My roommate, Kerry, has created an online outlet for some of her pics until Beta Elephants in Oakland is up by Opening Day (or you all can tell me what a failure I am). Kerry is studying photojournalism at The Academy of Art University and has only owned a camera for about a year.

Go visit
http://www.eioimageskerryhaas.blogspot.com/

Her first camera came a few days before Spring Training last season. By the time we got to Phoenix last year I shuttered at the thought of hearing about anything that was remotely related to a camera. Pun intended.

Kerry's first attempt at photography came as sports photography which is a little like trying to learn how to ride a bike by jumping on it as it is rolling down a hill. The first step was to get her to stop focusing on the player's butts. It didn't take long. After a few minutes she was screaming at A's hitters to stop swinging at the first pitch.

She got some good shots at a Cubs game at Hohokam where Mark Mulder and Greg Maddux went head-to-head. Justin Duchscherer ended up giving a pinch-hit, solo shot to Scott McClain in relief (against a guy no A's pitcher could get out; he was 7-for-9 at one stretch with three doubles and three homeruns) and the game ended 1-0. Eric Byrnes smacked Maddux around (funny what happens when you look at a pitch or two), but also made a blunder on the base paths.

But, the best images she got all night were of Peter Gammons and trying desperately to get a shot of Bill King in the booth. But, Bill's just wasn't tall enough to get a good shot. But, we know the top of that head is Bill King. That's good enough.

Spring Training is good for moments like those. Triumphs, failures, almosts and futility. It's all part of learning.

Kerry will be photogging and phoblogging the entire season and you'll be surprised at some of the shots you can get, even in the cheap seats.

As I was picking at some of the articles on the A's on the internet this weekend I came across one on MLB.com. It was on recently acquired Daric Barton. It was a typical spring fluff article on a prospect; in this case possibly the best left-handed hitting prospect in baseball. Here's the article in it's current form. Prior to this adjustment, there was a picture attached to the article. It was there for about 48 hours. Here's what is looked like:

And here's the caption that went under that photo:
'Daric Barton is destined to return to the minors, but for how long? (Alex Miroshnichenko/MiroFoto)'

You tell me? What's wrong with that picture?

Yah, that's not Daric Barton. And even if you don't know what Daric Barton looks like, you can tell that the batter is hitting right handed. No, the photo is not reversed as you can clearly see the team logo on the jersey would be on the wrong (which, in this case is the right - on the left side of the player) side if it were reveresed.

Okay, so it's not that big of a deal. It's still kind of bad to have an article introducing a new prospect to a team and be identified with the wrong photo.

To make matters worse, it apparently had an adverse affect on the young Barton.

FROM THE AP:

Oakland Athletics catching prospect Daric Barton was taken to a hospital Sunday night with appendicitis and was scheduled to have surgery.


Team spokesman Jim Young said Barton is expected to return to camp sometime this spring. He had already been limited with an elbow injury.

Mike Goodhope noticed that Barton was catching bullpen sessions last weekend, but that somebody was throwing the ball back to the pitcher for him. That's a keen eye for detail. Too bad Mike didn't have his portable X-Ray specs to do an internal exam.

Barton should be fine, and in the long run, a few weeks missed might alleviate some of the hype and pressure surrounding him.

Other bad news includes Chad Bradford's back and Curt Young working with pitchers.

Bradford is a solid major league reliever. Solid enough that if he has a poor outing, you can almost chalk it up to a physical injury or health related issue. Bradford stammered into the season last year and coughed up the lead a few times but by May, things seemed fine. Then, he wasn't - in June he gave up 10 runs in 13 1/3 innings and July was book ended by a few poor outings. Bradford was on the DL by August. He only pitched in 13 innings from the beginning of August to the final day of the season - and did not pitch on October 2nd.

A span over over 60 days and a pitcher of his caliber only saw 13 innings of work? Bad decision making by the manager or health concern? If Bradford was hurting, or just a day-to-day health concern - why the hell was he down in the bullpen? Or, more accurately, why wasn't Huston Street in the bullpen, instead?

The was some grumbling by some in baseball that 'if Street had been in Oakland in Spetember - the A's would have made the playoffs'.

Hard to argue. 20/20 hindsight and all.

Mike Goodhope, which is a great name for anyone in a business venture, is down in Arizona for Spring Training and was kind enough to send some pictures back from this weekend. You can take a peek at the following address:

http://www.studentloansharks.com/MikesAZSpringFeb2005/index.html

If you right click on the pictures and select 'view image' you can get a larger image size.

I've got a few dozen posts ready to flow in the next few days. There has been a few dozen issues at work and I've been spending too much time on my paid occupation. Sorfry. Hey, I didn't get into this line of work, ugh, to work. I took this job because I was supposed to be able to spend 6 out of every 8 hours reading and writing and blogging (wasn't that a Sundays album?).

Anyway.

I've got A's contract news and info to come and some outside opinions on the Eric Byrnes non-situation, situation and the Octavio Dotel situation, non-situation.

And as always, I've got a few good examples of horrible journalism for you to sift through.

I've got another 36 hours of eye-bleeding torture for work and then I'll have three days to enthrall you with some details and information.

That, and the 2005 Baseball Prospectus Annual dropped this week and I'm going to busy reading that cover-to-cover.

In the mean time, try to remember that Jose Canseco is a freak and that steroids and performance enhancing drugs were not against the rules of MLB until 2002. So, really, the talk about 'cheating' is ridiculous. Yes, steroids were and are illegal unless prescribed by a doctor (or a guy in Candada or Mexico). But, in MLB until the last two seasons, there was an open field of use available. In other words, and unfortunately, if you weren't skirting 'the unwritten rules' you weren't trying.

FROM THE SCIENCE DESK
By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter


FRIDAY, Feb. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists have dug up what appears to be the oldest intact rabbit fossil, complete with skull, long front teeth, short forelimbs and long hind limbs.

The ancient rabbit, which is described in the Feb. 18 issue of Science, is named Gomphos elkema, in honor of his distinctive dentures; gomphos is the Greek word for tooth.

The discovery of Gomphos adds new information to the picture of evolution, lending credence to the theory that lagomorphs (the group that includes rabbits and pikas) appeared after dinosaurs became extinct. The skeleton is about 56 million years old -- 20 million years older than others like it -- and dinosaurs vanished from earth about 65 million years ago.

The new fossil also supports the hypothesis that lagomorphs and rodents shared a common ancestor that lived very near the time of the extinction of dinosaurs.

When reached for comment a local Enchanter, an eccentric character by the name of Tim said, "That's the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on! He's got huge, sharp -- eh -- he can leap about -- look at the bones!"

There is evil in the world, and there are sportswriters.

There are morons (sportswriters) and there is Phil Rogers.

Now, look, I understand that sometimes there is a need for filler articles - the off season never has enough fluff, rumors, innuendo, made up crap and shaggy dog stories like the regular season. And who wants to leave their desk, or in this age of telecommuting; who wants to leave their wireless laptop and cell phone when your foot is stuck in the sand on one of the beaches of Aruba? That could take seconds to free yourself, then there's the long walk back to the hotel to, ugh, well. If I can post on my blog on the steps of the state capitol in Madison, Wisconsin in -14 degree weather...

ESPN.com has ventured into new, very tired, extremely low brow territory with their

insert lame graphic here
Hot Stove Heaters
There have been cutbacks at ESPN.com in the past year and their MLB content has suffered more than any other facet. Their minor league content hasn't been updated since last spring. Last spring. A major media outlet has not updated their minor league content since March of 2004. Oh, they have some links on the front page, a gaggle of Baseball America trade reviews. But, Joe Mauer is still going to be the Twins catcher in 2004 according to the caption under his picture on the front page.

Last year SABR, Baseball Prospectus and the A's had a nice event held at the Coliseum. David Forst spoke, Ken Korach (I'm still not sure why) and Rob Neyer spoke. I asked Rob why ESPN was directing his column to its ESPN Insider subscriptions service. Actually I made the statement that ESPN was more or less screwing its reader base by moving him under a subscription banner, my question was, "What the hell?"

ED NOTE/TOOTING ONE'S OWN HORN: David Forst was kind enough to mention Elephants in Oakland (the only blog mentioned, by the way) in his 15 minutes at the podium. Next to being mentioned in last year's Baseball Prospectus' Annual, it's the highest compliment I've known as a blogger. That and hate mail from sportswriters. Ah, digression.

In 2004, Rob Neyer was given the boot behind paid doors and recently, John Sickels was booted off the ESPN format all together along with Down on the Farm. How can you possibly wander to ESPN.com for ANYTHING when they neglect something so critical as professional baseball's minor leagues? Where do MLB's stars come from? 99% of all Major League Baseball players spend some time in the minor leagues (some Asian players make the lateral move, but, even a majority of Asian players finds out what the Lansing Lugnut does between innings, eventually). Wouldn't you think covering that certain aspect of professional baseball would be vital to understanding the context of today's game and the future of baseball?

ESPN's


insert lame graphic here
Hot Stove Heaters
Is a collection of, let's call a spade a spade, bullshit articles that insult anyone who knows how to keep score. Look at the also ran roster of sportswriters who was called in for this conglomeration of underachievement:

• Phil Rogers (Four entries)
  
  
• Bob Klapisch
  
  
• Eric Neel

Oh, sure, they snuck Alan Schwarz in there to throw you for a loop and offer some token grasp at saving face, but still bitch-slapping credibility. Sean McAdam adds his Nomarisms and Red Sox Nation drenched verbiage on the rack. Tim Kurkjian must have lost a bet, because the only person involved on ESPN.com and Baseball Tonight worth paying any attention to besides Peter Gammons is Kurkjian. Oh, sure, Gammons' inside sources are sometimes stale and his presentation is often less than stellar, but there's no question of the man's love for the game and the people who understand what the game is about.

In any case, the articles are garbage and filler of the worst kind. Take the last two, for example:

Best first baseman around the bag ...

Best catcher at blocking the plate ...

A few days ago, David Pinto had a very insightful, and statistically sound look at the difference between Kevin Millar at first and Doug Mientkiewicz playing first base. Go ahead and take a peek at it. There's an even better back story on this article, ask David about it. That and tell him that the name of the blog is Elephants in Oakland, not Oakland Athletics Blog...and David Levens only lurks in my mind.

Anyway.

David points out the obvious once the dust settles.

Don't listen to me, though, go read Eric Neel's article yourself and keep waiting for this nugget of wisdom:

"(He) saves the Giants 10 games a year"

- Omar Minya, Mets GM, (apparently sober) on J.T. Snow

Of course, the question is; if you can get 8 guys who are as good as J.T. Snow is at first base to play the other 8 positions on a baseball field, could you win 90 games and never have to worry about scoring any damn runs?

Omar Minya is on a fast pace to be out of a job in New York. The problem is, he is the only Latin General Manager in Major League Baseball. And Kaiser Selig and MLB will appease the Mets in any way to make sure Minya is given as much rope as Steve Phillips was given to hang himself.



This afternoon, ESPN.com posted their latest installment of the


insert lame graphic here
Hot Stove Heaters
and I was laughing so damn hard I coughed up somebody else's phlegm (I have a cold). That joke also works with, 'I laughed so hard I peed someone else's pants' or 'I laughed so hard the milk I drank shot out my friend's nose'.

We move on.

Who did Phil Rogers state with his glorious and compelling article who the best catcher at blocking the plate is? None other than former A's catcher Ramon Hernandez.

Stop it, stop it. Damn you all to hell.

Now I'm covered in all of your phlegm and pee and milk.

Gross.

It gets better.

Who did Rogers lead off the article with? RAY FOSSE

The same Ray Fosse who at last year's Fan Fest made a crack that brought uproarious laughter and applause when he made a snide remark when discussing Hernandez's replacement, Damian Miller - "Well, at least he's not afraid of contact at the plate."

A's fans have known for years that Hernandez had the best 2nd baseman's pivot in baseball. Hernandez is allergic to physical contact like (reader's choice - insert more despised current MLB player embroiled in the steroid controversy here) is allergic to the truth. Who forgets Jose Guillen throwing a laser to the plate to gun down a runner - only to watch Hernandez stand, take three steps forward and field the throw near the infield grass in front of the pitcher's mound?

ESPN SUCKS
The article is no different than anything else Phil Rogers pens, capable of finding its way into the very best of airline on-flight magazines in-between ads for meat by mail and exercise equipment. The problem is, there is no formula, no process to these articles. Who decides on the best in these arbitrary categories, the writers? If the writers, why do they have to get quotes from unnamed sources to back them up? If not the writers, who are the unnamed sources? It matters where these sources are employed, what their background is - particularly if they are a scout.

Why not take a poll with a smattering of GM's, assistant GM's, scouts, managers, pitching coaches, agents and players - past and present from the West, the East, the North and the South and see what they have to say. Then check the data to see if the poll is accurate or not. Did guys from the east pick guys from the east? Were there enough latinos making deciding choices? If not, why?

Is that too hard? 'Oh, the time it would take to choose the participants, to frame the questions and surveys and to compile the data - ESPN doesn't have that kind of time, money or resources available...it would be too hard to pull that off'...

Not as hard as it is for me to read through the garbage and waste my time, money and resources doing so.

It has to burn each fan who clicks to ESPN.com to find some information only to have to grab the waders and plough through this muck. Soon enough, though, Harold Reynolds will be on your TV screen rewriting the 'unwritten' rule book of baseball to fit his tortures thought process along with his patented, "no question, no question" immediately after someone asks him a question; like "does this mean that Player A moving to Team X makes this a better team down the road?"

Disney ditched the Los Angeles Angels of the Anaheim Hills a few years ago and it's not out of the realm to think that either ABC or ESPN will be next. ESPN is tightening its belt and trimming the fat and trying to make a profit off of it's online subscription services and video games.

Here's a novel idea; quit making TV shows on a sports network, clean the decks of the Stuart Scotts and Neil Everetts and get back to sports without out the overselling, the over hyping, and the aversion to the sports themselves.

But, soon enough, it will be a Sunday in summer, and you'll sit through Joe Morgan and wonder why. Especially, after Saturday, when you put up with Joe Buck and/or Steve Lyons on FOX. But that's another post unto itself.

AS LONG AS YOU HAVE NOT SEEN VULNERABLE FORMATIONS IN OPPONENTS, YOU HIDE YOUR FORM, PREPARING YOURSELF IN SUCH A WAY AS TO BE INVINCIBLE, IN ORDER TO PRESERVE YOURSELF.
WHEN OPPONENTS HAVE VULNERABLE FORMATIONS, THEN IT IS TIME TO GO OUT TO ATTACK THEM.

- The Art of War -

If there is a better example of serendipity, you tell me. Gary Huckabay penned his last 6-4-3 for Baseball Prospectus this morning, (un)officially ending his tenure with BP. It's been a long drought without a semi-daily Huckabay column and it looks like it will last. Unless you have a little imagination.

Why is Gary Huckabay 'leaving' BP? To take a position with some MLB team...

Yup.

Which is tremendous. Gary Huckabay strolling through the Coliseum offices is another off season move by Billy Beane that will reap benefits for many years.

That is horrible. No more 6-4-3 columns, no more Huckabay humor in round tables, in the annual (due to drop February 22nd) - what's worse is that Gary won't be able to offer juicy tidbits and stories about the A's from his vantage point of straddling the doorway. He's been yanked through to the other side.

As baseball fans, we should not mourn this passing of print analysis to actuality. We should grieve for the many who were given a thrill when Gary took over a small Round Table pizza restaurant during a BP Pizza Feed, banging away at the formica table to drive his point home above the thick laughter spilling out of the room.

As A's fans we should rejoice. Last year the A's lost their data miner in Paul DePodesta. Many would think losing Paul as an Assistant General manager is bad enough, but what most failed to recognize is that Paul did a lot of analytical research on his own, developing new ways to looks at data and refining existing formulas to fit the needs of the Oakland A's.

Now that Gary is fully under the A's umbrella, fans can only hope that there's a new echo in the Coliseum meeting rooms of Gary pounding away on a much, much nicer table but still driving his point home. There's going to be a silent revolution going on in the East Bay. Less than five people are going to able to witness the unfurling of its flag. But, six months from now, the rest of MLB will watch as new sets of fingerprints make their appearance on the A's puzzle. If you were even a casual A's fan, prepare to be dipped deep in the green and gold. You're going to witness history as an AL pennant takes the place of the flag of revolution.

Coming soon to an October near you.

MATT WATSON

Height:	5'11"		DOB:	5-Sep-78
Weight:	200 lbs		2005 Age:	26
Bats:	Left		Birthplace:	Lancaster, PA
Throws:	Right		ML Service:	17 Days
Obtained:	Claimed on waivers, October 9, 2003 from the NY Mets

This is the final part of the original interview with Matt Watson. Matt is headed out West in the next few days. Hopefully, Matt will have a spot at the A's FanFest this weekend. Otherwise, he'll make a hard left and head toward Arizona.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

You spent last year in Sacramento with the RiverCats. Having lived and work in Sacramento for some time, it's a bit of a peculiar notion to think that while I'm busy not working, you're getting ready for a game. What's a normal day like in Sacramento when you're getting ready for a night game at Raley Field?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

A normal day in Sac town consisted of getting up around 8:30 with the wife and kid. Having breakfast and playing around the house. Some days we’d run errands in the morning or early afternoon. Around 1:30 (Nickname) Swisher and I would usually leave to go to the field. We’d hang around the clubhouse, play cards, get loose, hit in the cage. Around 4:30 we’d stretch, take BP (Batting Practice), then have about an hour an fifteen minutes to relax before the game started. Games would usually be over around 10:00. We’d head home and then do the whole thing over again the next day.

(ED NOTE: You can tell Matt is not from Sacramento. Sac, or Sac Town is not used by Californians. Nor is Frisco or SoCal. Just a note. Matt's forgiven.)


ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

What about on a multi-city road trip? I think the consensus misconception is that there's a team bus, the team ends up BBQ'ing by the side of the road when the bus breaks down, the team stays at a Motel 6 and eats at Denny's when they aren't busy playing the field - i.e. chasing women....

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

Road trips are a little better at the triple A level. We fly to most places and even though they are the early flights, we don’t have long bus rides. Some of the parks you can walk to the stadium and some you take the bus. All in all, the travel isn’t too bad and we end having time to eat decent meals. Most clubbies do a pretty good job.


I think the general perception of the minor leagues is from movies like Bull Durham. Although back in the lower levels of the minors the movies aren’t too far from the truth. Bus trips are long and most meals are fast food.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

The next few questions appear like a dumb questions...but, I doubt that many people are willing to ask these kinds of questions - but they think about them to themselves. How do you get paid? What kind of hoops do you have to jump through to get your paycheck?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

The Athletics provide direct deposit for their players. The Mets didn’t. This was nice for my wife/ secretary (I think Matt means Administrative Assistant). We have a mortgage back home in PA. And trying to send checks home and send bills out used to be a problem with other teams I’ve played for.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

With the minor leagues there's international travel. After 9/11 there have been a lot more changes in the way in which people travel, I imagine your job has a lot of behind the scenes paperwork.

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

Most paperwork I have to send in gets done by my agent. I’ve played in other countries and luckily haven’t had any problems with visas or passports.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

Security is everyone's responsibility. Have you been asked by anyone unknown to you to carry a bag that is not yours? Have you been in contact with your bags at all times?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

Fortunately, I haven’t had anyone ask me to carry anything. I think they see me lugging around three or four bags of my own and bats. I’m usually the one asking other people to help me. Mostly just through the checkpoints...

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

Let's get back to in game activity. You have to deal with a lot of weather related changes. How do you deal with the heat, cold, wind, rain as far as equipment and uniform?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

As far as the weather goes (in Sacramento), we sometimes feel like we’re in the movie Groundhog Day, so when it rains it’s a nice little change from the ordinary. I don’t mind playing in cold weather, being from PA. It’s second nature to me. Nothing a little Under Armour and Flexall can’t fix.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

Spring Training is only a few days away. What are some of the differences between the big league camp and the minor league camp? Are the housing situations a little different - are you going to Ariozona early to get a better chance at the big room?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

In Spring Training it is pretty laid back. Most of the guys in big league camp know what they have to do everyday and there isn’t as much "hand holding" as there is in minor league camp. Most guys come to spring in shape and are ready to work or compete for a job. This spring I am going to stay with Swisher and Blanton in an apartment. I believe outfielders and other position players report the 24th of February. I’ll probably go down on the 15th.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

Do you have to get a once-over by the team physicians and trainers before they turn you loose on the field?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

We go through a pretty intense physical before we are allowed to start working out. They want to make sure that everyone is ready to compete and make sure nobody comes in with injuries sustained in off season training.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

How quickly does the organization break off into smaller groups where you 'know' what direction a player is headed (25 Man Roster or 40 Man Roster...or not)?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

They keep the groups pretty random in Spring. I don’t think they know exactly where people are going to end up; but I’m sure that they know to a certain extent who is generally going get sent to minor league camp.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

Most of the games in Spring Training are played during the day; what happens at night? Algonquin Roundtable discussions on the intricacies of symbolic logic?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

...MISSING INFORMATION...

...


I don’t know what happens at night with the coaches. I’m sure they sit around and discuss the team and what their needs are over dinner. I’m not exactly sure, you’d have to ask one of them.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

You've been in three organizations, now. What are some of the differences between Les Expos (now Nationals), the Mets and the A's?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

There are some differences in every organization I’ve been in. They have all been great to me and I have enjoyed playing everywhere I’ve been. They all run top notch programs. The instructors and coaches have all been very knowledgeable. The Mets seem to be making a lot of moves this off season but when I was there they were pretty good about giving some of their minor leaguers a chance at the big league level.


The only main difference I see between the teams I’ve been with is the Mets are a high market team and they are starting to sign big time free agents. The Expos and the A’s are smaller market teams and hopefully they will promote from within instead of going out to get proven major leaguers.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

How much true 'instruction' goes on at the minor league level in each organization?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

There is a lot of instruction in the lower levels of the minor leagues. They have instructional leagues for younger players to get more at bats and innings pitched. At the higher levels and the big league level it is more of a fine tuning when we go over bunt plays and relays.

(ED NOTE: Matt was referring to bunting in the Expos and Mets organization...not with the A's, we all hope.)

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

What is the experience of being a young player traded while still in the development stage?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

I didn’t mind being traded when I was in Double A. Each year there are different instructors and hitting coaches so I was able to go to the Mets and meet some of my favorite hitting coaches. I really learned a lot from my coaches in Double and Triple A with the Mets, so I think it was a blessing in disguise.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

Who in the A's organization would you like to see pitching to you on a regular basis - who could you rake? Who would you rather not have to face in intrasquad games in the next few weeks?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

As far as guys in our organization I’d like to hit off...I’m not going to touch that one because it always comes back to bite ya in the a$$ (...later...). All I know is there are a lot of good young pitchers in camp this year that many guys on other teams don’t like to see come into the games.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

Let's talk about your approach at the plate. Who's approach to hitting in the A's organization do you think most closely resembles your own?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

Early in my career I was a free swinger. I never struck out a lot but I didn’t walk much either. The A’s are more of a disciplined team where the guys work the count. So instead of somebody resembling my approach at the plate, I think I’m trying to adapt a little to their philosophy of being more patient. I think I did a lot better as the season went on last year.


I like Mark Kotsay’s and Eric Chavez's approach. They both had good years last year. I remember Kotsay talking about selective hitting last year and struggling with it early in the season. He seemed to figure it out and ended up among the league leaders in hitting.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

If you were able to sit down and figure out a productive season for yourself at the Major League Level - what kind of numbers would we be talking about?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

As far as figuring out numbers for the year I try not to put emphasis on stats. I like doing well, don’t get me wrong, but I learned early in my career that numbers can be deceiving. My worst year in Double A I got wrapped up in production and stats. I think I went into August hitting .229. Everyday, I was so eager to get four hits and justify the Mets trading for me that I started pressing. The last month my manager talked to me and told me to, "relax". He said, "don’t think about numbers, the season's already three quarters over". As soon as I did that in finished with the best month of my career and getting up to .279.

So every year I try to focus on every game and take things game by game or series by series. Trying to predict what you can do only does two things:

• Makes you frustrated if you don’t reach numbers you set for yourself
  
  
  or
  
  
  
• You end up selling yourself short if you attain your projected numbers

Who’s to say what will happen from day to day let alone projecting a season?


If I’m back in Sacremento, my wife and I will have to make the best of it and try to go back out there and three-peat. I’ve always been able to concentrate and focus on my goal of getting to majors and staying there.


In camp I just need to go out and work hard and play the way I’m capable of. Hopefully, I will get enough at bats this spring to show everyone what I can do. Last spring I was a new guy coming and I think the A’s felt like they should give at bats to some guys like Edwards, Grabowski, etc. who were organizational players the year before. Hopefully, this year I’ll be one of those organization players who gets a long look.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

Okay. Now...you've made the 25 Man Roster and there are two important questions to answer; what music do you want playing when you walk up to the plate and what number do you want to wear?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

I’m not a big fan of music going to plate, so whatever they decide would be fine with me. Sometimes, I get too pumped up when I hear a good song and I just wanna dance.

I don’t think Ken Macha would enjoy seeing me break it down while I’m in the box with the tying run on second base.

I’m partial to number 20 but whatever number the A’s have on a jersey that isn’t taken, I will wear that.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

Matt, answer the question...

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

If I had to chose a song I’d probably pick one of the three:

1. Pearl Jam - State of Love and Trust



2. Alice in Chains - Grind



3. Limp Bizkit - Did all for the Nookie

All of these have one thing in common...they are all extremely hard to dance to.


Trust me I’ve tried.




Matt was thanked a few hundred times and he was mailed a care package from Elephants in Oakland. Hopefully, Matt is available for a follow up during Spring Training. If so, you should start sending in questions now. In the meantime, start calling the Oakland A's and telling them you want to see Matt at the Fan Fest February 12th.

Oakland Athletics Baseball CO
(510) 638-4900

A little tidbit to get your nose wet and then I'll retrace back to Nick Peters of the Sacramento Bee.

For about two years there have been two types of articles about Eric Byrnes;

1. The article eschewing how much Byrnes hustles and what a throwback player he is - determined to have fun, including going to the Dominican Republic for Winter Ball, and doing it all for nearly the league minimum.

OR


2. The article on how Eric Byrnes is being spirited around the league as trade bait and comments by Byrnes on How he's "just happy to be here...I can't control the rumors...", etc.

Both types of articles had a shelf life of about two years ago, too. Now, the bird droppings are taking a life of their own.

A's General Manager Billy Beane recently went off the cuff with Mychael Urban of MLB.com denying that the A's had a deal in place for Byrnes and that the A's were actively shopping the OF'er. Beane went further to reiterate for the 90th time in seven years that there are no such things as 'sources within the A's organization' or a 'high level team source' or any bastardization of the same are false. That means not true and Beane went as far as to mention that when there are reports that suggest as much information leaking from an A's source that one can "safely assume that it's a bald-faced lie." Beane as much was pointing in Urban's face with this quote as Urban has been guilty of this sportswriter's crime as well.

The problem here is that Billy Beane says this about ten times a year and usually at least once a year at the Oakland A's FanFest. Still, sportswriters (who are morons) keep running with their 'confirmation' as if it were gold.

So here we are nearly two weeks later and Bob McManaman of the The Arizona Republic decides it is a slow news day.

KENDRICK SAYS TRADE IS IMMINENT


Cameron, Byrnes are top options


Bob McManaman
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 2, 2005 12:00 AM


Trade talks heated up Tuesday in the Diamondbacks' search to find a new starting center fielder and although the club still had multiple potential deals on the table, Ken Kendrick indicated a move could be made today.


"We will complete a transaction," Kendrick, one of the team's general partners, said Tuesday night. "We feel confident we're going to bring in a new center fielder to complete the team."


General Manager Joe Garagiola Jr. skipped his scheduled flight Tuesday morning to Mazatlan, Mexico, where he had planned to catch the Caribbean World Series with other team officials, so he could work the phones to try to bring a deal to fruition.


Garagiola entertained a series of phone calls early in the morning regarding various trade proposals and counteroffers and likely could cancel his trip to Mexico altogether if it means finalizing a deal that would bring either Eric Byrnes from the Oakland A's or Mike Cameron from the New York Mets to Arizona.


Although those two players have generated most of the trade talk surrounding the Diamondbacks' quest to find a replacement for Steve Finley, other options could be available. Kendrick said the team has been targeting up to six players. Colorado's Preston Wilson, who led the National League with 141 RBIs in 2003 but was limited to just 58 games last season due to a knee injury, is one of them.


Free-agent Jeromy Burnitz remains another candidate, although it's likely he will sign with either the Chicago Cubs or Pittsburgh Pirates. Earlier this winter, San Diego's Jay Payton was also drawing interest from the Diamondbacks, who aren't ready to give the everyday starting job in center to raw talent Luis Terrero. "We just think it's probably too much pressure to rely on Terrero," Kendrick said.


The Rockies and Mets apparently have talked about a possible swap involving Wilson, who is scheduled to make $12.5 million in 2005, and Cameron, who hit 30 home runs last season after signing a three-year, $19 million deal with New York.


Both players interest Arizona, but their salaries don't fit into the Diamondbacks' budget nearly as well as that of Byrnes, whose pay will top out at $2.5 million should he proceed to his arbitration hearing and win his case with the A's.


Although neither Kendrick nor Garagiola would discuss any trade specifics, it is known that the players most clubs generally ask about in connection with possible deals include starting pitcher Brandon Webb, new first baseman Chad Tracy and top prospects Conor Jackson, Carlos Quentin, Sergio Santos and Ramon Antonio Peña.




Jocketty talk


Kendrick took issue with a USA Today report suggesting the Diamondbacks are prepared to either fire or demote Garagiola so they could bring in St. Louis GM Walt Jocketty, whose contract with the Cardinals expired on Monday.


"That is definitely not accurate. Definitely not," Kendrick said, adding he has spoken with Jocketty this off-season at a baseball function, but is under the belief that Jocketty will remain in St. Louis.


"I'd like to work out something here (with the Cardinals), but nothing's been done yet," Jocketty said in the USA Today story. "Several clubs have expressed an interest. If nothing happens shortly, I'll have to look at that."

How many players were discussed? Not to mention that the General Manager was about to be fired or not fired. What the hell is a 'general partner' doing talking about players, anyway? Isn't that the job of a GM?

Okay, you can take this with a 10 lbs bag of rock salt, and factor in that the Arizona Diamondbacks are the new Brewers. If you have time, simply go scan a list of the transactions the Diamondbacks have made since their inception. Throw in the fact that the man they wanted to hire to manage their team was fired within a week and was in jail a week after that.

On a larger scale, Oakland A's fans need to get over the Eric Byrnes hype.

...AND IT BYRNES, BYRNES, BYRNES

One of the original mantras, when this blog began four seasons ago, was that Eric Byrnes needed to be in the lineup. Eric Byrnes had a requisite accompaniment of talents and abilities lacking in the other A's outfielders. Yet, Art Howe and Ken Macha insisted on trotting out lesser players into to the outfield. Byrnes was quick, agile, able to steal a base, made the routine play in the outfield, waited for a pitch to hit, hustled down the baseline on ground balls. Byrnes generally went about his duties as if there was a definitive chance that someone would come on the field and attempt to take the uniform off him is he slowed down for a moment.

I ranted and described the play of Terrence Long and Chris Singleton (later, Jermaine Dye and Johnny Damon) in terms that were borderline ridiculous. Then again, they really were that bad. The ongoing question became, "how bad do you have to suck as an Oakland A's outfielder before a change will be made?" Evidentially, you have to suck hard, suck fierce and suck for a long time before anyone with a clue will speak up.

After Jermaine Dye's injury following a broken leg in the 2001 Playoffs (yes, it was that long ago) was slow to heal, it looked like both Adam Piatt and Eric Byrnes were going to have a decent shot of getting regular playing time.

Once Eric Byrnes was given a chance to play every day in 2003 it seemed I was a genius for pressing his case for so long. The problem was, once the wound healed Byrnes was revealed for what he truly is, a temporary replacement for the A's. A scab on a healing wound, if you will.

Seriously, step the hell back and examine your current rage at my accusation.

Are you rooting for a player instead of the team?

Are you seriously considering that the A's are better off with Eric Byrnes in the outfield at $2.5 million (which begs the question - if Byrnes is asking for $2.5 Million in arbitration - is he still the 'underdog'?) than another arm for the pitching staff, a player to be named, cash and having Charles Thomas, Bobby Kielty and Matt Watson platoon in the OF spots with Mark Kotsay and Nick Swisher?

Then you are not an Oakland A's fan. You are a sheep following the hype machine.

I'm going to do the old side-by-side comparison of Player A's stats versus Player B's stats. It's pretty easy to follow along.

PLAYER A = +/- $3 Million a Season

Year	Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	HBP	GDP	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2001	25	19	38	9	9	1	0	3	5	4	6	1	0	.237	.326	.500	.826
2002	26	90	94	24	23	4	2	3	11	4	17	3	3	.245	.291	.426	.717
2003	27	121	414	64	109	27	9	12	51	42	71	2	3	.263	.333	.459	.792
2004	28	143	569	91	161	39	3	20	73	46	111	12	11	.283	.347	.467	.814

PLAYER B = +/- $3 Million a Season

Year	Ag	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	HBP	GDP	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2001	24	88	158	27	49	3	1	13	32	15	53	7	4	.310	.390	.589	.979
2002	25	131	368	48	97	16	1	16	57	32	116	21	10	.264	.355	.443	.798
2003	26	116	309	49	81	15	4	18	48	35	89	13	6	.262	.360	.511	.871
2004	27	155	561	97	148	35	5	29	82	50	169	30	11	.264	.354	.499	.853

PLAYER A= +/- $3 Million a Season

TOTALS		G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	HBP	GDP	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
MLB Totals: (5 Seasons)		383	1125	193	305	71	14	38	140	96	206	19	17	.271	.336	.460	.796
AVG Totals: (5 Seasons)		162	475	81	129	30	5	16	59	40	87	8	7	.271	.336	.460	.796

PLAYER B= +/- $3 Million a Season

TOTALS		G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	HBP	GDP	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
MLB Totals: (4 Seasons)		490	1396	221	375	69	11	76	219	132	427	71	31	.269	.360	.497	.857
AVG Totals: (4 Seasons)		161	461	73	123	22	3	25	72	43	141	23	10	.269	.360	.497	.857

Who is the more valuable player on offensive numbers alone? Both players are outfielders, both are righty/righty and while Player A is +1 on defense, Player B is -6 on defense. However, Player B can also play 1st base and catch.

Does the difference of 7 make that much of a difference when the larger issue for the Oakland A's is production at the plate - not defense?

Let's call the defense factors a wash.

Look at those numbers.

Is Eric Byrnes worth $3 Million a year? Really?

No. Not to the A's.

Byrnes isn't really worth an everyday job in the A's outfield, either. The A's have cheaper and more productive options available. Further, will Eric Byrnes' trade value ever be higher?

No.

So trade him, already.

Remember, this is from the guy who spent hours culminating data that showed Byrnes should have been in the lineup rather than Terrence Long and Chris Singleton and Jermaine Dye as far back as 2002.

The A's can do better than Byrnes.

The A's should strive to do better than Byrnes.

Hey kids - a little preview of what is headed your way over the next few days.

• The third installment of the Matt Watson interview, which will knock your socks off their asses.
  
  Part I of the MW interview
  
  
  Part II of the MW interview
  




• The Baseball Prospectus Pecota projections are in; and I'll give you the lowdown on the numbers and the cramp-like-pain-ers. (What is PECOTA?)





• Baseball Prospectus has a Pizza Feed tomorrow night in Walnut Creek. It should not be missed by any A's fan or baseball geek.





• Stephen Shelby and his Giants Diary (purest form of a baseball blog in the world) has landed an interview with John Manuel on the Giants Prospects and he'll hip us to that as soon as Baseball America publishes. There might be some follow up on this between the two of us and hopefully BA's Kevin Goldstein and John Manuel.




• I'll have a complete Spring Training Guide for everyone headed to Arizona including tips on what and what not to do and see (HINT - DON'T try and buy tickets in Arizona for a Cubs game the day of the game...DO buy tickets for a Cubs game now, and scalp the tickets, paying for your whole trip in a matter of hours.)




• I'll also be able to solidify a cast of half a dozen who are going to be interviewed between now and Opening Night.

ELEPHANT TRAMPLES CIRCUS WORKER TO DEATH

From the Associated Press

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - An elephant being loaded onto a truck trampled a circus animal trainer to death at Memorial Coliseum, police said.


Three handlers were loading the elephant Monday as crews packed up from this weekend's Shrine Circus, officials said. Two of the workers left the trailer and one man stayed behind to lock the trailer door.


A coliseum employee later saw the man lying inside a semitrailer with the elephants and alerted other handlers, said Victor Hopkins, spokesman for the Allen County Sheriff's Department. The man was taken to a hospital and died a few hours later.


Police said they did not know how many times the elephant stepped on the man, whose name was not released.


The elephants were calm when the other handlers returned to check on the man.


The U.S. Department of Agriculture (news - web sites), which regulates circuses through the Animal Welfare Act, is looking into the incident, USDA spokesman Darby Holladay said.


Representatives of the circus could not be located for comment Tuesday.


Elephants are the largest of all land animals, and depending on the sex and species they could reach 13 feet in height and weigh up to 6.5 tons, according to the Humane Society of the United States' Web site.


Captive elephants from 1990 to 2003 killed 65 people and injured 130, according to Circuses.com.

Speaking of circus workers and elephants crushing them...Nick Peters of the Sacramento Bee. Prepare to be ripped apart.